TRIPs FORUM: A Matter of Interpretation

This paper makes a small contribution to our understanding of the interpretation of the TRIPs agreement. It is also to serve as a report on my own previous work. The paper offers a way of thinking about the field and some snapshots of interpretations over time - not just the record of interpretive practices but the continuing competitive efforts to structure interpretation selectively and steer a path through the criss-cross of regulation. Of course interpretation is not a mechanical task, it depends on who is deciding and the styles and sources of law for deciding. To understand contemporary law making across the world, I have found that socio-legal studies has much to offer. Many in socio-legal studies would now recommend that we do not start by looking for formal hierarchies of legal authority and settled, static rules of conduct. Globalisation blurs the boundaries between jurisdictions of law and multiplies the encounters between divergent legalities. Better now to track the currents, circuits and communities of interpretation. Organising principles like regulatory networks, global governance and legal pluralism will provide greater assistance. As a force for convergence of law, the impact of TRIPs should not be underestimated. It provides a strong pro-rights framework for any consideration of intellectual property policy. TRIPs is by no means the first international convention, but we could say it has truly placed intellectual property rights on a global scale. It is remarkable that we can all be involved in the 'same' conversation about intellectual property. Given the range of the WTO membership and the substance of its prescriptions, almost every measure can now be read as a response to TRIPs